Pro Cycling Interview

Sep Vanmarcke: 'If You Don't Think You Can Win, You Shouldn't Be Racing'

Cycling's newest star talks about winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and what comes next

james startt

(Photo by Sep Vanmarcke, who rides for the American Garmin-Barracuda team, won the Belgian Classics opener Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a 200-kilometer race that takes riders over a series of cobbled climbs. (Kristof Ramon))

With his stunning upset victory over Tom Boonen last week in the season-opening Classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, 23-year-old Sep Vanmarcke jumped onto bicycle racing’s center stage. A product of Belgian cycling, the Garmin-Barracuda prodigy has what it takes to be the next great one-day rider. Bicycling caught up with the Belgian to talk about his greatest victory and his big ambitions.

Bicycling: Life must be pretty wonderful for you right now. You just won Het Nieuwsblad, one of your country’s biggest races.

Sep Vanmarcke: It’s changed my career and probably my life. I always wanted to be good in the Classics. I knew I could be good, too, but winning was still far away. OK, two years ago I finished second in Gent-Wevelgem, that was a big result; but it wasn’t a victory. Now things have changed.

Bicycling: You were confident going into this year’s race and told Jonathan Vaughters, your team manager, that you wanted a leadership role. Considering the established riders on the Garmin-Barracuda team, that was bold.

Vanmarcke: Well, not really a leadership role—I just wanted to be free and not obliged to work early in the race because I felt good. I talked to Jonathan and (director of competition) Allan Peiper in the off-season, and they said I should really go for a big result in the Classics, to win one, or at least get a podium result. I was focused on that all winter, so I didn’t want to accept a worker’s role in a race such as Het Nieuwsblad. Jonathan said I had to stand up in the team meeting and explain that. It worked out.

Bicycling: That's impressive—a 23-year-old standing up in the team meeting before the season’s first Classic, saying “I want my chance.” Your teammate Heinrich Haussler won the field sprint and placed fourth. If you had not won the race, he could've been justifiably upset.

Vanmarcke: If I didn’t feel so strong in the race, I'd have told them and worked for someone else. That said, I wasn't sure I could actually win. I was in the break with Boonen and he was very strong. I knew I could finish second—but winning? I felt strong all week and needed to state my case. Jonathan helped me with that, as did my manager. And I know if I didn’t do it, I would have had regrets.

Bicycling: You were clearly one of the strongest in the entire field, and tactically you were the one who took the initiative at critical moments.

Vanmarcke: Yeah, it was great, but also sort of strange knowing that I was the strongest, or at least the strongest along with Boonen. That gave me a lot of confidence and helped me make the right decisions.

Bicycling: Going into the finish you were with Juan Antonio Flecha and Boonen. Did you think you could beat a rider of Boonen’s caliber, who has a good finishing sprint?

Vanmarcke: I thought I had a very, very small chance. I knew I could beat Flecha, but Boonen? Oh, that was going to be hard. But I remained focused on that one or two percent chance that I could win because, well, if you don’t think you can win, you shouldn’t be racing. When Tom started sprinting, I got on his wheel quickly, and that gave me confidence that I could beat him.

Bicycling: Boonen was the first to congratulate you. Did you guys talk?

Vanmarcke: Yeah, he said: “This is going to change your life!” Winning the Omloop was so amazing, but doing so by beating Boonen made it special. Everybody knows how good he is.

Bicycling: You grew up near Waregem and still live there, so you must know the roads of the Tour of Flanders well.

Vanmarcke: I won’t say it is my daily training ground, but I ride those roads a couple of times a week, so I know every street, every bump in the road.

Bicycling: How did you get involved in cycling?

Vanmarcke: My whole life has been about cycling. My father rode gran fondos and my siblings all raced. I'm the youngest of five, so when I was six I was always going to their races. And after the races I'd keep asking if they would do a couple of sprints with me so that I could pretend that I was in the races, too. So all my life, my whole life, it was all about cycling.